What You Will: A Queer-er Shakespeare

eBook, 130 pages

English language

Published by Smashwords.

ISBN:: 979-8-215-07705-4

(1 review)

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a very queer play, But what if you could make it queerer? A storm at sea leaves twin hearts broken... and when the twins enter town, they leave broken hearts in their wake.

Trouble is brewing in Illyria. Steadfast and stubborn Duke Orsino won’t take no for an answer from Countess Olivia, yet Olivia’s proud heart beats only for Cesario. The catch? Cesario used to be known as Viola.

Viola lost her twin brother Sebastian at sea and entered Orsino’s household disguised as a man. Now, Cesario is falling for his master, the duke – while helping Orsino court Countess Olivia! Is it because Cesario used to be Viola that he is falling in love with a man? And if so, why does he vow that the dead will walk the earth before he answers to Viola?

Outside of town, a man who wears Cesario’s face …

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a very queer play, But what if you could make it queerer? A storm at sea leaves twin hearts broken... and when the twins enter town, they leave broken hearts in their wake.

Trouble is brewing in Illyria. Steadfast and stubborn Duke Orsino won’t take no for an answer from Countess Olivia, yet Olivia’s proud heart beats only for Cesario. The catch? Cesario used to be known as Viola.

Viola lost her twin brother Sebastian at sea and entered Orsino’s household disguised as a man. Now, Cesario is falling for his master, the duke – while helping Orsino court Countess Olivia! Is it because Cesario used to be Viola that he is falling in love with a man? And if so, why does he vow that the dead will walk the earth before he answers to Viola?

Outside of town, a man who wears Cesario’s face is recovering from long illness, cared for by the darkly handsome sailor and war veteran Antonio. When this stranger, so recently recovered, decides to travel to Illyria, he walks into a love triangle he never could have imagined. And Antonio will take his life in his hands to follow the man he has come to love.

Will Illyria still be standing when the storm-lost twins are done with it?

The strands of passion and destiny lead to strange places; find the impossible happily ever after in this retelling of Shakespeare’s classic queer love story. Discover, in a story that has enthralled audiences for ages...

An even queer-er Shakespeare.

2 editions

Tsundoku reviewed What You Will: A Queer-er Shakespeare by Jess Mahler

While I confess Shakespeare is difficult for me, this is still a delightful take on a Play I very much want to see

5 stars

Content warning Spoilers for the Premise of this retelling; Spoilers for Twelfth Night; CW: Grief, Ableism / Forced Instiltutionalization

Okay, so as a member of Jess Mahler's Street team, I received a free copy of this to review, but it's probably worth noting, I was receiving this serialized as well, so it is Not my first time reading it.

Which is good, because I haven't had any Shakespeare since High School over a decade ago, and I still find him difficult to parse. Most of the dialogue is taken directly from the play, (except for the changing of some lines in regards to the changing of the ending). I must say: Reading this a second time made it a lot easier, but still challenging. For the time being, (as of writing this) I am giving this a 4.5, but I may raise it up later, especially if I can better grasp the the play. I do plan on watching it if I can find a recorded version. It may also get an increased score if it turns out a month from now I can't get this out of my head.

Okay, so in the original play Viola disguises herself as a man named Cesario, I believe as an aid for being an unmarried woman shipwrecked in a foreign land.

The difference being, in Jess Mahler's version, Cesario decides he likes being Cesario, and promises to himself that "the dead will walk before I answer to Viola again" (probably not the line exactly, unfortunately I can't consult the ARC while I write this).

So yes, Cesario is a Trans Man in this telling, so certain end lines have to change, and that's all I'm saying about that aspect. There's a note in the back regarding that in my E-ARC, and I assume the final copy will include a note too.

I'm going to touch on the Malvolio subplot. The Fool regrets his part in the Malvolio subplot, and the whole thing is explicitly shown to be a bad idea. Like yes, trying to drive someone insane, get them declared insane and locked away, seemingly as a prank or revenge for slights seems OVERKILL to me. but maybe that's because I've been institutionalized before, and can assure you: it sucks!

Let's talk about the narration.

The Fool, who narrates this tale, (which I think that's a wonderful choice that I'm going to assume was Mahler's decision at least until I see or read the original play) does a great job with pronouns and names Like Viola / Cesario's pronouns match what She / He feels at that moment (using slashes for clarity, Sorry Cesario I'm not deadnaming you for petty reasons). Like if I were writing a narrative where I wanted a character to transition during it, I think this is the way I'd prefer to go about it. This (and the original play) are worth studying.

Buy it, but remember to take notes!